MOST OF THE BETTER NATURAL THINGS IN THE WORLD, Dave Eggers and Angel Chang
If you've read my "About" page, you'll know that I'm a sucker for beautiful kids' books, I’m a nature seeker, AND I love Amur tigers. So earlier this week, when I picked up Most of the Better Natural Things in the World and found: beautiful illustrations + wondrous landscapes + a tiger (white, so probably Amur), I almost fainted.
Most of the Beautiful Natural Things in the World is a short read. I got through the 23 words quickly on first go-round. The second time I read the book I focused on the pictures. And then I leafed through once more, but this time I just enjoyed Tiger’s trek. Tiger with its yellow chair and red rope. (What? WHY a chair? WHY a rope? Well wouldn’t you like to know!)
As soon as I finished read number four, glossary and all, I knew this book was my favorite of the week.
Honestly, run to the library or your local bookstore and find out why Tiger is dragging that darn chair over archipelagoes and under lagoons. It’s such a good read.
Why for kids: The Tiger! Though Tiger is usually just a small object in a two-page illustration, Tiger and its bird (Bonaparte's Gull? A different bird every time?) companion are always active and up to something interesting in one gorgeously illustrated biome after another.
Why for grownups: It will only take you minutes to read -- 23 words! You'll have them tucked into bed faster than you can say Netflix! And I especially appreciate that this is an excellent book for littles and older kids. I've caught my 12-year-old flipping back and forth between the pages and the glossary more than a few times in the past few days, but I know what they're really looking at it is…Tiger.